I Remember Trenton – Grand-Vu Drive-In Was Place To Be In Summer

By Bill Clark
THS Class of 1967
Shortly after you passed the Hy-Power Cafe and just before you reached the Gables Supper Club, you would turn left off old Highway 65 onto a gravel road and head down a small incline to a very small ticket booth. There you would pay for all occupants of the car and, as I recall, it was 50 cents for adults, 25 cents for those 12 and under while children under six got in free.
According to the illuminated marquee sign at the entrance, you had entered the Grand-Vu Drive-in Theater that operated in Trenton for 30 years. The Grand-Vu opened on a Friday, July 4, 1952 with the main feature being “The Golden Hawk” starring Rhonda Fleming and Sterling Hayden. The original ad promoted a giant fireworks display at 10:15 p.m. following the movie that started just after dusk.
The Grand-Vu covered a couple of acres of ground and was bordered on the north by 40th Street where you could pass by the back of the huge, raised, outdoor movie screen. Facing the screen was row after row of small dirt hills facing the screen with a pole housing two speakers per pole. Each speaker had from six to eight feet of straight, black cord. The whole drive-in area was covered in gravel. You would drive your car past each row until you found the one you wanted, then pull up on the left or right of the pole so your car was tilted slightly upward with a clear view of the screen. Then you would roll down the car window closest to the pole and hang a speaker on the window or lay it on the dash depending on how much cord was on the speaker.
Near the screen was a small playground with swings and teeter totters and I recall a bench or two for those young ones who didn’t want to watch the movie in the car with their parents. If you watched the movie from the swings or benches the faces were huge and action was hard to follow because you were so close but that sometimes made it even more fun.
In the middle of the rows of hills and speakers not quite halfway back from the screen was the small building that housed the projector and the snack place. Unlike most theaters, you could get hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream bars and ice cream sandwiches, popcorn, soft drinks and even fries. I can still remember the sound of your feet walking back on the gravel to your car in the dark while you tried to get back without spilling anything or tripping over something.
Drive-in theaters were quite the thing following World War II as GI’s came back, started families and careers and then started buying cars so that almost everyone had a car with some newer than others. The drive-in was perfect for families because you didn’t need to pay for a babysitter. Just go to the drive-in movie with kids in pajamas and blankets and pillows. Everyone was happy and children often slept through the movie.
Some movies were perfect for families while others were perfect for dates. Some with dates would take their cars to the back rows of the drive-in where the windows could get a little steamed up which gave that area and the drive-in its own special name, the “passion pit.” I can’t tell you much about that not having spent any time back there though I find myself with a certain amount of regret sharing that with you.
Sometimes you would go to the drive-in with friends and when it got really hot, you would just lay on the hood and windshield of your car. Some nights the mosquitoes were bad and you needed insect repellent which really didn’t help the taste of your hot dog much. Sometimes, friends would join others in their cars or go pound on the windows of those in the passion pit area because they were young and up to no good as my Grandmother would often say…
Sometimes the movie watching got challenging if it started to rain. Sometimes you had to run the car heater to clear the fog from the car. On a few occasions some might find they drained their car battery and couldn’t get it started without some help. Other times someone would take off and forget they had the speaker in the window and the cord would snap off at the pole. I think that had to happen a few times a season since some cords seem to get shorter and shorter as the season neared the end.
Just like the grand opening, the Grand-Vu would always have fireworks on the Fourth of July. Larry Meeks remembers driving his car and parking on 40th Street to watch the fireworks for free. Don’t know if he did that with his wife Carol or someone else; he wouldn’t say.
Of course there are many stories and claims by people that got into the drive-in for free hiding in the trunk of the car until it was dark and the movie had started. I am unwilling to provide any names but I can tell you I know a few who did just that. And no, I wasn’t one of them though I was up to no good on occasion.
Every once in a while there would be a special night called “Buck” night. That’s when every car that entered was only charged $1, no matter how many were in the car. I once saw a flatbed truck with chairs get in for a buck. Don’t know how many were on the truck but they each got a really good deal.
The drive-in was seasonal but it was also far more than just a movie. It was an experience and I would encourage those who have never been to one to try it once. There are still a few drive-in theaters that remain across the country but their numbers are certainly getting smaller each year. If this is something on your bucket list I wouldn’t put it off too much longer.
It seems with all of the DVDs, movie channels and cable downloads now available fewer people experience a movie together, any place. And even fewer of them can or want to do it at a drive-in theater. Surely these things contributed to the close of the Grand-Vu about 1982.
Some of you reading this now may be recalling your experiences with drive-in movies. If you are one of those and you are thinking of evenings spent at the Grand-Vu Theater enjoying a movie and the company of others, you are not alone. We share those wonderful thoughts.